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Month: June 2014

Bud’s Pub Grill and Catering in Dixon is an institution. One worth a visit. I have enjoyed several breakfasts and one lunch. The quantities are generous and the bacon and steak a superior quality.

Dixon has an interesting downtown with businesses you might expect in a farming town. Then it has strip malls, a WalMart and fast food places all along I-80. You may only know Dixon from its charmless development along the freeway.

Dixon’s downtown is worth exploring if you go to the Dixon fairgrounds for the May Fair or Lambtown, USA.

While driving to Oakley for a meeting I noticed the rolling hills near Rio Vista. A light bulb turned on, “Biking hills!” To prepare for my multi-day rides in Yorkshire in July, I have been driving to Folsom for hills. This morning I drove out to Montezuma Hills and Birds Landing Roads.

I set off with some trepidation. I decided to ride 5 miles out and then turn around and cycle back on the same road. Montezuma Hills Road is well paved to serve the windmill farms that dot the hills. I immediately began pedaling up a hill alongside curious sheep staring through barb wire.

The journey out was a challenge but the last 3 miles was all downhill. Of course this means uphill on the return. Also from a car I did not factor in the wind. Afterall, there is a reason for all of the windmills. With the wind at my back I was flying downhill. On the return I went as slow as 7 mph into the steady breeze. (I wondered if my computer has negative numbers if I started rolling backward.)

I rode 5 miles out in 15 minutes and back in 35 minutes. The ride boosted my confidence. I did not have to stop once except to take this photo. Shifting gears is still challenging. I am going to consult the used copy of “Greg LeMond’s Complete Book of Cycling” for tips.

After I loaded my bike rack, I slowly turned my car around. A woman cyclist appeared from Montezuma Hill Road so I waved and called out, “Where did you ride from?” Rio Vista. She stopped and she explained that she and 2 friends were riding to Collinsville and back. They often windsurf in Rio Vista but since the wind was not strong enough, they decided on a training ride. One is preparing for a triathlon and the other two for the Vineman Aquabike.

I am definitely going to research riding from Rio Vista to Collinsville and back. Hope Sarah Harriet can go with me next time. And, after a quick consult with Joe at Freewheeler I learned to improve my gear shifting. Good thing because I would not want to be stuck in my big gear for my first ride with the Davis Bike Club tomorrow.

The Big Break Regional Shoreline has a beautiful visitors center that offers exhibits, meeting space and space for an science education program. A short walk from the visitor center is a 1,200 square foot interactive map of the Delta (on the ground) that demonstrates water flow through the region.

It is part of the East Bay Regional Park District (most impressive park system in the state!). The park has the facilities to enjoy a picnic, fish from the pier, launch a kayak or canoe, or birdwatch.

Next to the town of Oakley on the shores of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, on Highway 4 near 160, near Antioch and Rio Vista.